


Life of Soren

by siangjiang



Category: Cracked - Ambiguous Fandom, Cracked.com, Cracked: After Hours
Genre: College, Cute, F/M, High School, M/M, Parenthood, Self-Hatred, Shitty Childhood, Supernatural - Freeform, life - Freeform, magical powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 08:17:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11710464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siangjiang/pseuds/siangjiang
Summary: A long list of snippets telling the life of Soren from childhood to now, and Daniel, Katie and Michael through his eyes.Everything is based on things we've been told about the characters, either in the show itself, or by the creators in interviews, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or leaked scripts. I've tried to keep everything canon based on those things.I might update this as the series continues and we learn more about the characters.





	Life of Soren

**Author's Note:**

> I chose Soren because he has told us more about his life than any of the other characters. What did Daniel do besides being lonely as a kid? What about Michael? Katie? Some day we might know.

"Mom! Mom!"

Soren ran up the last bit of mountainside towards the giant cabin he and his mother called home, tore the door open and almost went straight into the kitchen before remembering the house rule and quickly kicked his snow covered boots off.

"Mom!" he yelled "You have to see this!"

His mom wasn't there. Instead a man and a woman, both blonde, were sitting in the living room. They looked up and smiled at him.

"Hi Soren" the woman said.

Soren wanted to ask them who they were, but all that came out was "...Where's mom?"

The woman laughed "I'm right here, honey"

He had no idea what they were playing at, but he didn't like it. When the man got up Soren quickly turned around and ran into the kitchen.

"Mom!?"

"Soren? What are you doing?" The man said behind him.

"Mom where are you!? Mom!! MOM!?!"

He went from room to room, more and more panic creeping into his voice. Downstairs he could hear the people moving around, calling out to him. He just had to find his mom so she could explain what was going on. 

She wasn't in the upstairs bathroom, her own room, any of the guest rooms or even his room.

She was gone.

With his heart beating like crazy he stopped in the hallway. The man was standing by the foot of the stairs but didn't come up. "Soren!" he yelled "What are you doing? Be nice to your mother!"

Okay, if his mom wasn't here he should probably talk to them. They were adults. They probably knew what was happening.

Slowly he went downstairs. The man looked angry. "What was all that about? Apologize to your mother right now!" He pointed at the lady.

"That's not my mom" Soren said.

"What?" The lady got up "Of course I'm your mother, and that's your father"

Soren had no idea what they were talking about. "My mom has long black hair, and I don't have a dad"

The people looked beyond confused "Did the nanny tell you she was your mother?"

"Nanny?"

"Yes, the au pair. You thought she was your mother?"

"I..."

The man sighed loudly "See," he said and looked at the woman "it's because of shit like that I fired her. Well, you're too old for a nanny now anyway. We're taking you back to our house in the city"

Soren furrowed his brow "I don't want to leave the mountains! And I want my mom!"

"Get it into your head. She was not your mom. We're your parents"

"I've never seen you before!"

"But we've seen you. She sent us pictures every month"

**********

Soren hadn't seen his new (real) parents in a while. He knew his dad had to be working, but the last he heard of his mom was that she was going out with friends. That was three days ago.

They had said he was too old for a nanny, but he unofficially had a whole _team_ of nannies now; the maid María, the cook Valentina and the gardener José.

**********

"Are you crying?" his father asked, looking disgusted at him "You're too old to cry"

Soren sobbed and held up his bloody arm. A branch had slashed him from elbow to wrist when he fell from a tree. It wasn't deep, but it bled a lot and hurt like hell.

"So?" His dad said "You think that excuses you from being a whimp?"

Soren's voice hitched as he spoke "I-It really h-hurt and I landed-" His father's hand cracked across his cheek. Soren had never been hit by an adult before, and started crying again from the shock which only earned him another slap.

"Let that be a lesson. If you show weakness people will jump on you and your suffering will only get worse and worse. Do you understand?"

Soren quickly wiped his eyes and nodded. His father smiled gently "Good. Strive to be the strongest possible version of yourself and you will never suffer again. Now go clean your arm off before you get blood on the carpets"

**********

The city was so noisy compared to the mountains. There was always that quiet buzz of cars in the distance.

But sometimes Soren woke up in the middle of the night surrounded by silence. No cars. No clocks ticking anywhere. Nothing. Just dark silence.

It was as if time itself had stopped.

**********

Soren flipped a page and heard his dad grumble from somewhere behind him.

"Comic books? Really?"

The look of contempt on his dad's face was enough for Soren to hide the superhero comics under his mattress from then on.

**********

Soren felt a tingle in his crotch he wasn't entirely familiar with when Nala tackled Simba and threw him on his back, growling dangerously at him. She was so strong. Not just physically but mentally too. She hadn't cracked under Scar's rule, only grown tougher and now she was kicking the rightful king's ass.

He didn't really know what to do with this feeling. He just pressed his thighs together and imagined himself in Simba's place, being forced down on the ground by a powerful lioness.

**********

Soren was king, and high school was his kingdom.

Everybody knew to get out of the way when Soren walked the halls with his army of athletes. He had become team captain for various sports teams and they all followed him blindly. The football players, swimmers, fencers, lacrosse: they were all his. He was untouchable.

And being part of Soren's circle was good. It meant alcohol and girls who eagerly threw themselves at the popular guys. His parties were huge and he could have them whenever he wanted because his parent's house was so big they rarely noticed.

He was no longer the boy from the mountains.

**********

He got two prom dates, because of course he did, and he was crowned prom king because of course he was.

The limo sent little vibrations up through Soren's body while Ashley's hand, warm and tight around his cock, worked him steadily closer to release. Every time she felt his balls tighten she eased up and allowed him to calm down before starting the torture all over again. Sweet, sweet torture. 

He gasped desperately against Linda's mouth. She had opened his shirt and was playing with his nipples. He felt so naked and exposed compared to them. They were still wearing their prom dresses while they had practically undressed him at this point. 

This could have gone on forever if the limo hadn't made a sudden stop, causing Ashley's hand to jerk and send cum splattering across his stomach. The girls giggled and Soren smiled blissfully at them. 

Being dominated felt forbidden. Naughty. It was the complete opposite of what his father had taught him; always be strong, always be in charge. But it was okay here. It wasn't the real world. Just a game where he could sit back and let someone else be in charge for once.

He was hooked.

**********

Soren missed the mountains. He missed the silence.

**********

College was more relaxed than high school had been for Soren at first. He still enrolled in three sports teams but only allowed himself to be team captain for one of them. He needed time to study. Or at least, that was what he told people. In reality he couldn't handle the stress of being around people constantly. He needed more time to himself.

And yet his old habits came back and soon he was throwing huge parties and sleeping with every pretty girl who looked his way, which were a lot. He told himself it was because people needed a leader and he was the most qualified person around. He had to sacrifice himself for them.

**********

It had slowly dawned on Soren that he could stop time. He didn't know how or why. It just happened sometimes. Mostly in his sleep, when he had woken up five minutes before he had to get up and wished he could stay in bed, drifted back to sleep and woke up what felt like hours later, yet it had only been a minute according to the clock.

At first it frightened him. What if he got stuck? Would he some day have to live out the rest of his life in a frozen world? But everything can become routine, and eventually he got used to it. He just wished he could control it.

**********

He hated humans! Hated them! 

Always in his face, always talking, overwhelming him and making him nervous. He resented them for the fear they invoked in him just by being around. It reminded him of how weak he still was. He wished they'd all just die!

He just wanted to go back to the mountains...

**********

The tiny white puppy ran across the kitchen floor, fell and banged her head against the wall, but immediately got up and continued like nothing had happened. Soren would have laughed if he hadn't just read the name tag.

"Oh, I see you've met your parents' new dog" Valentina said "Isn't she adorable?"

"Stupid as hell" Soren said fondly "But yeah, she's cute" For a moment he went silent, then asked "Why the name, though?"

Valentina's face fell, and she gave him a look like she was witnessing child cruelty in action. Soren refused to speculate on why.

"Well, they called her Soren's Replacement because they love you so much. They don't think you're interchangeable with a dog, of course not, not at all. It's just because they love her second best, after you"

Soren nodded slowly. He felt that nagging feeling in the back of his mind from when he was a kid, but he shook it off. Yes of course. That had to be the explanation.

He ignored the look Valentina was giving him.

**********

Bullying had never really been part of Soren's vocabulary. He never did it himself because the unpopular kids had been little more than a blip on his radar, and it went without saying that he had never been bullied. 

So when he saw three guys standing around a student with glasses and a huge, curly, white-guy afro, Soren didn't immediately know what was going on. However, he instinctively said "Hey!" when one of the guys slapped some papers out of the student's hands. He had had to deal with unruly jocks most of his life so he knew when something could escalate.

"What's going on here, guys?" he asked in a friendly but firm tone.

They all turned towards him, suddenly looking awkward on their feet "Nothing Soren. We were just talking"

"Aha..." he said, looking down at the guy who was collecting his papers "Well, it seems like you're done now, okay?"

"Okay, sure. Come guys" One of them stepped on a piece of paper just as the student was about to pick it up "See you later, geek"

"No you won't" Soren said and the guy quickly hurried off. He looked down at the student "You okay?"

"Yeah, thank you" he said as he got up "Nobody has ever helped me before"

Soren noticed. They were surrounded by people who hardly even looked their way. He understood. They were all nobodies who could either be elevated by hanging out with people like himself or become targets by association with the likes of this guy. Soren had firmly established his place at the top of the school's hirachey though and didn't have to worry about things like that.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The guy brushed himself off "Daniel O'Brien, and I know who you are"

"Of course you do" Soren said without a hint of sarcasm "See you around, Daniel"

"Really?"

"What?"

"You want to talk again? With me?"

"Uh, sure. Take care of yourself"

"You too. Well, I'm sure you don't have to worry. You can clearly take care of yourself"

Soren was starting to feel like he had gotten himself into something here, so he just turned around and said "Bye Daniel"

**********

Daniel was just as annoying as Soren suspected so he avoided him as best as he could. Somehow he still felt sorry for the guy though, and Daniel was a huge nerd whom Soren could share his own embarrassing geekiness with. Besides, Dan turned out to be amazing at imitations, so before Soren knew it his phone was filled with videos of Daniel.

*********

Daniel came with a bizarre baggage called Michael. A tall, weird pervert who had apparently always been part of Daniel's life. They were almost like brothers if not for the fact that Soren saw Michael bully Daniel just as cruelly as everybody else. Michael even started a trend of throwing slimy animals like slugs and frogs at Daniel that soon caught on at the school.

Yet Daniel didn't seem to mind. They still hung out after school like nothing had happened. 

**********

"Hi buddy. Are you hitting on my girl?" Michael slid into the seat next to Soren.

"Maybe" Soren said "I hit on a lot of girls"

"Well, you better stay away from Katie Willert, got it?" 

Soren almost laughed. Nobody had ever dared threaten him before. Michael was lucky he was Daniel's childhood friend.

"I have no idea who Katie is"

"Good, and it better stay that way"

"Sure"

They sat in awkward silence for a moment. Michael had clearly said what he had come to say, but didn't move.

"Are you done?" Soren asked.

"Yeah" Michael said, but got into a more comfortable position "I've been thinking...How about we go out and get a drink together?"

"What?!"

"Just you and me. See where the night takes us..." he winked flirtatiously.

Soren felt a mix of panic and anger bubble up in his chest "Leave. Now"

Michael was on his feet before Soren even finished talking.

**********

Soren didn't mind guys hitting on him. In fact, he was used to it. Confusing men sexually was part of being handsome, and Soren couldn't deny that he enjoyed the attention as long as the guys kept their hands to themselves.

Thing was, he was sure Michael would eat him whole if he ever reached him a little finger.

**********

Soren had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. Everybody told him to be an athlete or model, but he didn't like the idea of making his hobbies his work.

Then Daniel told him he wanted to work as a writer. Soren thought it over. It sounded easy.

**********

Turned out Soren wasn't the only person getting ideas from Daniel. It couldn't be an accident that both Michael and Katie got a job at Cracked too, and it wasn't long before the four of them started an after hours tradition of meeting at a nearby diner to grab some food and talk about geeky stuff.

It went well for a while.

**********

"Where's Michael?" Daniel asked. 

"He won't be joining us ever again" Katie growled, a dangerous look in her eyes.

Soren shuddered. She could be quite scary sometimes. Assertive and aggressive like Nala, and he started to think he might have to break his old promise to Michael.

Daniel looked confused "Wa- Did...did he die? Did he die and I didn't hear about it?"

"What? No! I had an arrest order put on him"

"About time" Soren mumbled, and Daniel looked horrified at him.

"But it has always been the four of us!" he whined "We can't be three people! How will we make teams!?"

"Calm down, jeez" Katie said "I'll find someone else"

**********

That someone else was a guy from work named Adam Ganser. He was a great guy, but misfortune seemed to follow him.

First the diner mysteriously burned down, forcing them to move to a cafe, and just as Daniel had gotten used to the place, it turned out Michael worked there part-time and wouldn't stay out of their conversations. Katie wanted to move to another place, but Daniel wouldn't be able to handle the stress so soon after their first move.

And finally one day Adam just disappeared. The next day Michael showed up with a black eye and casually sat on Adam's chair.

"So?" he asked "What's today's topic?"

Soren, Daniel and Katie all looked at each other, but they never talked about it.

**********

Katie was a surprisingly good kisser. She didn't just melt into his arms and let him have his way with her, but gave him plenty of pushback. He liked when he had to struggle a bit.

**********

"Wait wait, time out, Greg" Soren said, even making the time-out sign at his friend "Are you telling me you have no money left?"

Greg didn't move. He didn't even breathe.

"Greg?"

Soren looked around. The whole bar had gone silent. The woman next to him was frozen in time, mid hair flip.

His heart started beating like crazy. Had it happened? Was this the day time stopped forever for him? Or had he done something to cause this? What had he done?

He looked back at Greg. Soren had been completely focused on him when it happened, so it had to be something about Greg.

Feeling a bit stupid Soren raised his hands and made the time-out sign. "Time out?" he asked the room, but nothing happened. He thought for a moment, then said "Time in?"

The sound of the bar exploded back, making Soren jump in his seat. Greg jumped a bit too.

"Whoa, you okay?" he asked Soren.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine" Soren giggled, not seeming overly convincing. "Time out" he said again, and everything stopped.

Sitting in the silent bar, surrounded by frozen people, Soren started laughing hysterically.

He had done it! He had found a way to control it!

**********

Soren had always had a lot of "friends". Other jocks who walked in packs and supported each other on the surface, but secretly always had a competition going on. They always had to one-up each other in various little ways, and god have mercy on you if you didn't fit into the narrow standards they had set for themselves. If you showed weakness you were expelled from the pack. Soren used to like that. As long as he was part of the group he had confirmation that he wasn't weak.

Daniel was nothing like them. There was no pretending. No fake bravado. Just a nervous, lonely geek who barely managed to function in society and couldn't pretend to be anything else.

The honesty was refreshing. One evening Daniel even confessed his biggest fear to Soren: being alone. Or more precise, Michael, Katie and Soren dying, leaving Daniel practically alone in the world.

It was oddly adorable, and incredibly disarming. Soren had never had any kind of relationship like this. A friendship where you could open up and share things honestly.

He looked thoughtfully at Daniel's face, then turned away and admitted "I think my biggest fear is weakness"

Daniel cocked his head "Weakness? As in you being weak, or...?"

"Me being weak, others being weak. I don't know. It freaks me out. Old people, babies, sick people. They can't take care of themselves. They shouldn't exist"

"I don't know" Daniel smiled to lighten the mood "Babies are sorta important for the survival of the species"

"Yeah, I suppose. But not old people. They just drag the rest of us down with their bony, liver spotted fingers. I've often thought we should just go all out Logan's Run as a society"

"Then we'd both be dead"

"Maybe 30 is a bit early to Carrousel people. Maybe 50 or 60 would be better"

"...Because you're afraid of weakness?"

"You know what? Forget it. I just thought it was okay to share my fears with you"

"It is! I'm really happy you told me that, but now you're talking about killing old people and its freaking me out"

"Well I don't want to _kill_ kill old people. I'm not about to go out and stab..."

Daniel was giving him a weird, slightly horrified, look, so Soren decided it would probably be best to shut up. Even in this friendship there were things he couldn't be honest about it seemed.

**********

"Soren? Are you okay? You've been in there for an hour"

Soren sighed. The bathroom was one of the few places where he could lock the door, guaranteeing privacy. Only downside was that people apparently timed him.

He could just Time Out if he really needed it, but he didn't want to abuse it, and besides, it wasn't the _right kind_ of peace and quiet. He actually enjoyed the sound of the world turning. The silence of Time Out became suffocating after a while.

**********

The sound of the tent rustling woke Soren up before the hands shooting out of the darkness did. They grabbed at his clothes and he almost decked the attacker before realizing who it was.

"Soren!?" Daniel gasped, panic in his voice "Soren!!?"

"Daniel, easy. It's okay. I'm here" He wanted to touch Daniel to assure him and accidentally placed a hand on his warm, sweating neck. Daniel flinched from the touch which almost made Soren pull his hand back. Instead he decided to run with it. "Easy, easy. What's going on?"

"I thought you left!"

"Where to?"

"I don't know. Just left. Michael and Katie too"

"Well, Michael is still here"

Even over Daniel's heavy breathing, Michael's loud snoring could be heard from the other tent. 

"We're all here, buddy" Soren said gently and felt the tension slowly leave Daniel's neck.

**********

"What exactly do you do around here, Soren?" Jack O'Brien asked, looking at him over his glasses "I see you on my payroll, but every time I see you at the office you're either flirting with the female staff or hanging out at O'Brien's desk" He thought for a moment, then added "The _other_ O'Brien"

Soren shrugged dismissively "I work. Obviously. You got my script, right?"

"Yes" Jack pulled out a thin stack of papers "This one script. One. For a 5 minutes long video. This is all you did last week"

"Being creative is not as easy as it looks. It has to seem natural and-"

"This isn't good enough, Soren. You have to put in more work or I'll have to fire you"

Soren felt a stab of panic. He didn't need the money. In all honesty he could live off his parents wealth for the rest of his life and they wouldn't even notice, but he couldn't get fired. Slobs got fired. And...he kinda liked it here. It had taken a while, but he had friends now. Real friends. The kind he could talk to about his worries, and who hung out with him after work just because they wanted to. And Daniel...

"Are you a betting man, Jack?" Soren asked, leaning back in his chair. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I'm not much of a gambler, no"

"I think you're going to like this one though" Soren smiled "I'll bet you five bucks that you won't fire me"

Jack looked blankly at him, then nodded "Deal"

"So? Am I fired?"

"No, not this month" Jack said and Soren made a fist pump. He quickly dug out a fiver and put it in Jack's hand. "But only this month" Jack continued "We'll see about next month"

"Then I'll be back next month with five bucks" Soren grinned as he walked out of Jack's office. 

**********

Soren ran out of the movie theater and straight into the bathroom. He was hyper ventilating and his heart beating so hard it almost hurt. When he tried to turn the tap he noticed his hands were shaking. A drop fell from his face and into the sink. What the fuck!? Was he _crying_?!

Just what he needed. Another weird phobia. But why clowns? He had always been uncomfortable around them, but a panic attack?! Really!?

He jumped when the door was suddenly opened and he heard Katie's voice call out to him. "Soren? Are you in here?"

"Get out!"

"I just wanted to check if-"

"This is the men's room, Katie!! Get the fuck out!!"

"Jeeze, okay, calm down. I'll go back in. You can wait in the car if you want"

Soren did exactly that. He considered just driving home, but he had been the others' ride to the theater. Instead he drove around the building so he couldn't see the giant IT poster.

**********

"Are you cold, Dan?"

It was a stupid question. Daniel was covered in goosebumps and was trying to rub some warmth into his arms.

"Yeah, a little" he said "I had no idea my hair was so insulating"

Soren looked at Daniel's bald head reflecting the lights from the street lamps and padded his friend on the back.

"The sacrifices we make for Cracked" he smiled and took off his hoodie "Here"

"Oh, thanks..."

It was a bit of a tight fit. Daniel couldn't even zip it up, but judging by his reddening cheeks he wasn't cold anymore.

**********

"Did you find Michael?" Daniel asked Katie as she sat down.

"Yeah, he's in the bathroom, crying I think?"

Daniel looked worried "Well? Did you check on him?"

"He's in the men's bathroom, Daniel. Soren taught me I have no business in there" She glared at Soren who looked away.

"Why don't _you_ go check on him?" she asked Daniel.

"No no no, I'm no good at stuff like that. I don't really do, you know, emotional" He gesticulated with his hands as if emotions were a physical thing on the table he was touching.

"But you're his oldest friend" Katie said "I mean, how often does he even cry?"

"A lot, actually" Daniel said.

Katie made a face "What, really?"

"Yeah, mostly in his basement"

"Oh my god, that's so sad" Katie put a hand to her chest "I didn't know that. Why has he never told me?"

Daniel shrugged "He never told me either. I just hear him sometimes"

"You have to go talk to him!"

"Aw, but he usually stops after 30 minutes"

"Go talk to him!!"

Daniel jumped in his seat "O-Okay, but if he's been in there the whole time he was gonna come out soon anyway"

"Daniel!"

Soren looked at Daniel as he hurried into the men's bathroom, then at Katie "He's just going to make it worse"

"I don't know, I think they're still close"

"Yeah, but he's really bad around emotional people"

She turned her head a bit "How do you know that?"

Soren didn't answer.

**********

"This is your son" Rebecca had said, holding the baby up so Soren could better see him "Say hello to daddy, Benjamin"

Now Rebecca was doing something in the kitchen, having left Benjamin on the couch with his dad. Soren looked at the tiny human, trying to convince himself to touch Benjamin's chubby foot. He was so small and helpless, and Soren could feel fear starting to scratch at his mind. _'It's just a baby'_ he had to remind himself _'All babies are weak. They grow strong later'_

Still, the helplessness scared him the same way being around fragile old people did. But maybe Benjamin wasn't weak? Maybe he had powers like Soren?

In a bizarre move to calm himself, Soren reached out and put a hand around the baby's neck. The feeling of his smooth skin and rubbery bones made Soren shudder. Gently he tightened his grip, easily cutting off the air supply. He was just testing...

Suddenly he felt push-back against his fingers and an invisible force was shoved violently into his chest. It was strong enough to jolt Soren and he fell back against the armrest just as Benjamin started screaming and Rebecca came running in.

"What did you do?!" she shouted, picking their child up "There there, shshsh, mommy's here"

Soren looked at his hand. There was still a feeling of something lingering in his palm, but he easily crushed it between his fingers. He smiled.

 _'You don't like being strangled, huh?'_ he thought _'Good'_

**********

What would sex with Daniel be like?

The thought didn't surprise Soren. It had been in the back of his mind for a long time, but he had never really allowed himself to acknowledge it until now. Here, alone in his bed, he felt safe enough to let his mind wander.

**********

Sweaty. Sex with Daniel turned out to be very very sweaty. Didn't bother Soren though. He never got sick (maybe that was a superpower in its own?), so most bodily fluids didn't disgust him. 

If he could eat food Michael had dug his dirty hands into, Soren could have sex with sweaty Daniel. 

**********

"How are things going with you and Daniel?" Katie asked. Soren lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Fine. Normal. The same as always"

"Okay. Good good"

"Why are you asking?"

"I've just noticed he doesn't flinch when you touch him now"

"Well, it's not like that's-"

"He even touches you sometimes"

Okay, Soren didn't know how to explain _that_ away.

**********

Soren didn't like talking about Star Wars. It was such a cliche nerd topic, with its extended universe, erased canon and weirdly numbered movies. He could practically _feel_ himself grow less attractive if it was discussed near him.

Daniel knew all of this, which was why "Star Wars" was the perfect safe word; Daniel would immediately know something was wrong if Soren uttered those words.

**********

"I think there's something wrong with me, Dan..."

Soren sat on the edge of his bed, his bare feet cold on the floor, and still wearing the hospital gown. He felt his lower lip begin to tremble. He bit down on it, but in vain. God damnit. Why couldn't he control his emotions all of a sudden? Tears started welling up and blurred his vision. Angry at his own weakness he hit the mattress as hard as he could. It only made it worse. It was just like crying; an outwards sign of his inner turmoil. He hit the mattress again, then pressed his palms against his forehead and hunched over to hide his face.

A bit hesitantly Daniel placed a hand on Soren's upper back. He had never been good at cuddling, but Soren appreciated the attempt. The arm coming around his front was a surprise though, and suddenly Soren found himself _embraced_ by Daniel. More out of stubbornness than anything Soren tried to pull away, but Daniel only hugged him closer. That really opened up the waterworks. Soren started sobbing uncontrollably, pressing his face into Daniel's neck while clinging onto his arm. 

**********

He was having Benjamin over more often now. God help him, he actually wanted to spend time with his son.

Even if he had to carve ancient runes into the boy's crib to keep his latent powers contained.

**********

Sexual encounters with Daniel had become far and few in between. They hadn't been fighting. In fact, they had become closer than ever before. It just didn't seem...necessary anymore. It had been fun at first, but Daniel never got comfortable with Soren's more kinky side and had periods where skin on skin contact freaked him out. Eventually the sexual aspect of their relationship just fizzled into the sand.

It was okay. They didn't need it. Their relationship had always been about so much more. They just wanted to satisfy their sexual curiosity, and amazingly their friendship had survived and become stronger because of it.

Soren looked lovingly at Daniel who was going on and on about a clerk from a local corner store whom Daniel was convinced hated him. 

How had Soren been so lucky?

**********

These weren't Soren's mountains. They were warmer, drier and dusty, but he recognized the thin air up here. He filled his lungs and felt his muscles ache from the climb. Far away some birds called out to each other, but besides that the world was silent. He was as alone as any human could be while still on earth, and for the first time in months he felt a deep relaxation seep into his mind.


End file.
